Mistakes
by McGeeklover
Summary: "I can't rest, Catherine! My best friend was shot by god knows who and he could be dying for all we know! We've gotten no answers for hours, I just…" Nick lowered himself to a chair and began sobbing. "God, I can't lose him Cath. He's my little brother." Nick made a mistake and now Greg's paying for it. Hurt!Greg Guilty!Nick Brotherly love. OS Tag to 11x20 Father of the Bride p1.


**Mistakes**

**Disclaimer: Don't own CSI**

**NEW EPISODE TOMORROW!**

**Anyways, just a little one- shot until I can think of more ideas for the next chapter of CONTAMINATED and MAULED. Hope you like! Tag to 11x20: Father of the Bride (p1)**

"You sure we shouldn't be waiting for backup? It's just ten minutes out."

"We'll be fine, Andy, Thorpe said he hadn't seen them since a few days ago," Nick said.

Greg and Nick walked the dirt path to the Tina's and Nigel's house with Officer Ackers behind them. Arvin had pointed them out to the old house, telling them that Tina and a squirrely guy had showed a couple days ago. He wasn't positive, but he didn't think they were there now. But Greg, along with Andy, had this nagging feeling at the pit of their stomach. Something wasn't right. Greg didn't say anything though; he just wanted to get this over with and go back to the lab to figure out where the other body parts were…then again, they could probably be here. Little did he know he wouldn't be making it back to the lab that day.

~+CSI+~

_Look at them, all smug and thinking they can come here with their guns and badges like they own the place. Well, I'll show them…but who to pick?_ Tina had come back to the house to make sure the bodies were decomposing fast enough when she could see, from the window, the CSI's talking to Arvin. Luckily, she had a gun and they were never gonna come here again…because they'd be dead. Smiling to herself, she aimed the gun at the cutest, youngest looking one.

"Say goodbye to mommy, kid." With that, she pressed her neatly manicured finger on the trigger and relished the sound of the bullet hitting her target. Inhaling with a satisfied smile, Tina grabbed her things and ran. The other two would be occupied by trying to find out what happened and getting the victim to the hospital so she'd leave the others alone …but there would be no point for a hospital. She shot the kid dead.

~+CSI+~

Nick barely had time to register what happened as he heard a gunshot followed by something flying by him. And then time seemed to slow down from there; he looked to his left to find Greg had stopped and was now slowly crumpling to the ground. Without hesitation, he leapt to catch him underneath the armpits. Though he knew Greg was nearly weightless, he seemed to get heavier as he folded in on himself.

"Nononono, Greg!" Nick gently lowered his friend to the ground before looking up at Andy. "Go, go, go! They could still be in the house!" Andy nodded, speaking into his walkie as he ran towards the house. He watched as the officer disappeared before looking down at his friend…his normally well-tanned friend who now looked like a ghost. He quickly dragged him to a less visible and safer place near the bushes. Greg was motionless and for a moment, Nick thought he was dead. He readjusted his grip on the kid's waist, pulling him closer and putting a shaky finger on Greg's neck.

"Oh god, this can't be happening. Please don't let this be happening," he whispered and then sighed in relief when he felt a weak flutter beneath his fingertip. "Thank god. Greg? Greg, buddy can you hear me? Come on man, wake up!"

He laid Greg on the ground and began unzipping his jacket, praying that Greg was wearing his vest. "Please, please, please…shit, Greg." Nick ran a hand nervously through his hair. All Greg had on underneath was his suit jacket and a thin t-shirt. "No, Greggo." And what made the situation worse, a patch of red starting blossoming…right next to his heart.

"Son of a bitch! Greg you are not doing this to me, not now!" He put two hands on the man's chest and pressed down hard."

Suddenly, Greg's eyes flickered open and a groan passed through his lips. Immediately he gasped when Nick shifted his hands.

"Greg? Greggo buddy can you hear me?"

"N-Nick?" Greg shuddered.

"Right here, man, you're gonna be okay."

Greg didn't respond, but just looked up at the Texan with glassy, pain-filled eyes. Suddenly, he coughed and Nick paled…blood was trickling out of Greg's mouth and down his chin. Greg felt this and instantly knew what was happening; he was dying.

"Greg, you are not gonna die," Nick said as if he read Greg's mind. You are not gonna fucking die; not like this."

"Nicky," Greg whimpered, his eyes drooping.

Nick frowned. Greg _never_ called him Nicky. He roughly shook the man in attempt to keep him conscious. "No, keep your eyes open buddy. The ambulance will be here in just a moment. Just, please stay awake."

"C-Can't"

"Yes you can, G, just look at me; look me in the eyes, alright?"

Thankfully, Greg brought his eyes up to Nick's as his breathing became labored. He tried so hard to breathe, but as the minutes went by, he was finding it more difficult. He didn't want to die, but it seemed so much better than enduring this pain. After what seemed like hours looking into each other's eyes, Greg broke the contact, grimacing in pain.

"Greggo, come on man you gotta stay with me."

"H-hurts."

"I know it does, bud, but you gotta breathe through it."

Greg suddenly began choking and gagging, more blood flowing from his mouth and staining his teeth.

"Crap," Nick muttered, pressing harder onto Greg's chest. As much as he didn't want to hurt the guy, he knew it'd be helping him…hopefully.

"N-Nicky…I'm…I'm s-s'ry." He couldn't hold on any longer…and he couldn't believe it was gonna end this way. He always imagined going out in a fiery explosion with some hot blonde dying with him, but never like this. This was totally cliché. A police officer- or more so a CSI in this case- getting shot in the line of duty; that wasn't cool.

"Nonono, Greg I swear the ambulance is just around the corner. You gotta stay with me, man, you hear? You can't leave me."

Greg's breathing hitched as his eyes became unfocused and his head was getting heavy. Was there some sort of helmet on his head or something?

"Greg, you fucking stay awake," Nick shouted shaking Greg a little more violently this time.

"So…s'ry Nicky…I'm s-so…" Greg trailed off and body relaxed, his eyes closing and his head falling limply to the side.

"Greg?" Nick said, fear overcoming his senses. "Greggo?" His chin quivered as he placed his fingers on Greg's neck again and this time he almost passed out. There was no beat. Greg's heart had stopped. He was dead.

"Greg! Greg c-come on, man, this isn't funny! Stop playing around…please wake up!" Nick began to cry, tears flowing down his cheeks. He couldn't lose his best friend. Why was this happening? First Ray getting stabbed and now this? He lost all common sense and scooped his friend into his arms and brought him to his chest. Rocking back and forth, he cradled Greg's head and put his face in the soft blond hair, inhaling the scent of faint cologne and Blue Hawaiian coffee. He always wondered where the kid hid that stuff.

"Greggo, please don't do this," he sobbed. "Please don't leave me." Greg was so still, so lifeless, his body flopping every which way when Nick moved. He was so deep in paying attention to Greg that he never noticed the sirens or the paramedics that kept trying to pry Greg's body away from him. When Sara came, she reasoned with him and he reluctantly let go and watched as the medics tried to revive his best friend- the man who he considered his little brother…who he failed to protect. It was his job to protect his little brother and he had done a piss-poor job with it.

It almost felt like hours, but finally the medics resuscitated Greg and hastily began to get him ready for transport. They shoved a tube down his throat and a needle into his arm.

"One sixty over eighty; we need to hurry or he won't last much longer."

The two quickly moved Greg onto a stretcher and wheeled him into the ambulance. And as much as Nick wanted to be there for the kid, Sara had said he needed to stay behind so he could give a statement and go back to the lab to give his clothes for evidence. Greg was now part of a case…again…he couldn't believe it. Greg had the worse goddamn luck ever; first the lab explosion, then the beatings, and now this? When was the kid gonna catch a break? And the $65 million dollar question was: why couldn't it have been him?

~+CSI+~

Nick's foot tapped impatiently on the tile floor, his hands folded in front of him as he waited for news on his friend. It had been at least three hours already and he wanted some goddamn answers. He stood up and paced, running a hand through his hair and across his stubbly chin.

"Nicky, he'll be alright," Catherine whispered, willing the man to sit down. "Greg's a fighter; he's strong."

"I know he is but…god this never should've happened."

"There was nothing you could've done."

"There had to have been something." He knew he couldn't have prevented this, but he somehow found a way for it to be his fault. "Do you know who did this?"

"We found a shell casing from a sniper rifle- FD200 to be exact- but no gun, no shooter, nothing. All we got are three bodies and a bunch of maggots."

"Perfect," Nick said sarcastically. "More death and no answers."

"Nicky, please sit down, close your eyes. I'll let you know when the doctor has news."

"I can't rest, Catherine! My best friend was shot by god knows who and he could be dying for all we know! We've gotten no fucking answers for hours, I just…" Nick lowered himself to a chair and began sobbing.

"God, I can't lose him Cath. He's my little brother."

"We won't lose him, Hun. He'll be okay," Catherine soothed as she rubbed circles on Nick's trembling back. "I promise."

And when they were finally able to go see Greg, Nick nearly collapsed. The doctor had told him that Greg crashed on the table twice, and the bullet was inches from hitting his heart. He was extremely lucky. Greg's face was too pale for his liking along with dark circles underneath his eyes. A thick bandage was wrapped around his upper chest and Nick could see a small dot of red seeping out from underneath. It wasn't too bad, but what had happened earlier nearly made him sick. What made him even sicker was the tube that was sticking out from Greg's throat. It meant he wasn't able to breathe on his own.

For the next week, Nick sat with unconscious Greg, afraid that if he left then Greg being alive was just a hallucination. That he was actually dead and on a cold slab in autopsy…or worse, six feet under. And no matter how many times someone from the team told him to go home, he would just ignore them and hold Greg's hand tighter, running a hand through the kid's curls. The doctor wasn't 100% positive Greg would make it; in fact, he said there was a 60% chance that Greg wouldn't last more than a few weeks. The bullet was so close to his heart that he predicted it wouldn't work properly. This made Nick puke his guts out. He got Greg back only to know that he was gonna lose him again.

"Please Greggo; don't do this to me…please."

And then Greg flat-lined for the last time.

"Greg!"

~+CSI+~

"Greg! G, how's it going buddy?"

Greg smiled as he walked into the locker room to put his things away. This was his first day back after a month and a half and he was excited. Being at home was driving him crazy. He still couldn't believe he'd gotten shot, but he was alive now and that's all he cared about.

"Hey Nick."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better. My chest is still a bit sore, but…"

"It's better than the alternative, man. Seriously, I thought we lost you." Nick got up and stood in front of his friend. "Please, don't ever do that to me again. I don't know what would've happened if you checked out early."

Greg swallowed as he embraced Nick in a brotherly hug, though careful for his wounds. "Sorry, Nicky," Greg whispered into his shoulder.

Nick's mind flashed back to that day. _"So…s'ry Nicky. N-Nicky…I'm…I'm s-s'ry."_ He sighed and squeezed his eyes shut to block out those horrible memories. That was then and this is now. Greg was alive and that's what mattered; they proved that douchebag doctor that Greg was tough and wouldn't give up without a fight. And now it was almost two months after the incident and Greg was still going strong. He squeezed his friend a little tighter, really not wanting to let him go but…

"Ow."

"Oh, sorry bud." Nick released Greg and they smiled at each other. "What do you say we get started on another case, huh?"

"You read my mind, Nick," Greg grinned.

Nick patted Greg on the shoulder, squeezing it briefly before the two left the locker room and on to their next case…like nothing ever happened. And even though they both know it did, they wanted to bury the memory in the back of their minds forever.

_**Finis**_

** Ending was kinda poopy, but what did you think about the rest of it? Now onto my 'in-progress' stories before I get stones thrown at me for taking too long ;) REVIEWS!**


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